Page 12 of Veiled

That’s just fucking great.

I hit answer, hoping it won’t drop the call. “Jenny?”

“Hey. Did you make it?” Her voice sounds crackly on the line, cutting in and out, like it’s the first goddamn phone to ever exist and not brand-new. I have to talk to Sam about getting Wi-Fi out here.

When I asked him about it, his eyes narrowed, and he shook his head. He let me know there’s no internet in the cabins, but a café in town has that—and I quote—“fancy shit.”

This is going to be a long damn three months.

“Yes. I’m here. The service is shit.”

“What?” she asks loudly, just to prove my point.

I scream into the phone. “The. Service. Is. Shit.” And I have no idea why I’m screaming. That’s not going to make it any better.

Her voice cuts out, and then a moment later, the signal is lost. Well, that’s just fantastic. I gotta tell you, I don’t know how the hell places like this even exist anymore. This is goddamn ridiculous.

I type out a quick text to let her know I made it and the service is, in fact, shitty. That I’ll call her tomorrow if I can find a spot in town that has a signal.

I raise the phone up in the air—why I think that will help, I don’t know—and thankfully, it sends before I place my phone down on the couch next to me.

How the hell is this my life now?

I need to find a way to get Justin to talk to me, figure out how to help him, and then get the hell out of here.

Iwake up in the world’s most uncomfortable bed. I mean it’s somehow both hard and soft at the same time, with a spring poking into my side for most of the damn night. First thing today, I’m ordering a decent mattress. I don’t care how much I have to pay to get it shipped out here.

I cannot take another night like last night.

My body aches as I climb off the mattress from hell and make my way into the bathroom—which consists of a toilet, a shower I’m not sure I’ll even fit in, and a sink with a rusty old mirror above it. I take a piss and wash my hands before I move into the kitchen.

There’s an old coffee maker, but as I search through the cabinets, I’m horrified to find absolutely no coffee.

This. Cannot. Be. Happening.

There’s no way in hell Door Dash or Grubhub will deliver out here, and there’s also no way I’m going to start my day without coffee.

Nope. No. Way.

So, I do the only thing I can. I stumble out of the cabin in my skimpy black briefs and make my way over to my neighbor’s front door. And he is not pleased.

But I don’t miss the way his eyes slide over my body, slowly with absolutely no subtlety, checking out every inch of my bare skin. I wish I could say it had no effect on me, but of course it does.

His perusal lights a fire in my blood, but then his face goes back to angry. “What the hell are you doing? You trying to get arrested?”

I smirk at that. “There are cops around here to arrest me?”

He rolls his eyes at me—sadly, he’s already fully dressed in ripped jeans and a white t-shirt. “Why are you here?”

“I was wondering if you could loan me some coffee until I can get back into town.”

He studies me carefully, his brow furrowing and his pretty full lips pursed in annoyance. Damn, he’s cute when he’s annoyed. “No.”

It’s my turn to roll my eyes at him. “Justin, are you really going to deny me coffee? You know how I get without caffeine.”

He stares at me, unmoving and cold, but then he huffs loudly and flails his arm behind him, turning his body. “Fine. Just come in. I’ll get you a cup.”

I grin wide, unbothered by his little outburst. This turned out better than I could have planned.

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